Best Itinerary for 8 nights in Costa Rica?

We would very much welcome help in planning our itinerary please. We are two couples from UK due to spend 8 nights in CR before embarking on Crystal Serenity at Caldera on 30 November. The cruise then transits the Panama Canal before making a one day stop at Puerto Limon.

The itinerary proposed by our travel company has us first nighting near San Jose before going up to Tortuguero partly by boat for two nights. We would then fly (!) back to SJ before heading to Arenal for two nights then Monteverde for one. Finally we would spend two nights at Tambor before heading to Caldera on day nine to embark.

Our first dilemma is to decide whether it is worthwhile spending two nights in Tortuguero at a time of year when apparently the turtles will not nesting/egg laying or simply do a day trip from the ship at Limon. If the latter is likely to be a better choice we'd welcome any suggestions on what sort of trip to do from Limon - we would at least like to spend time on a boat along the canals there observing the wildlife.

If we don't stay in Tortuguero we'll have two more nights to plan into our trip and again any suggestions would be much appreciated. We are however quite OK with the prospect of spending the last two nights in Tambor possibly at the Tango Mar hotel.

Sorry if this is a bit long but this our first (and possibly only) trip to CR and so we want to make the most of it. Thanks in anticipation of your responses.

Tom

PS Any tips please about where to search for the weather we can expect especially rainfall!

We would very much welcome help in planning our itinerary please. We are two couples from UK due to spend 8 nights in CR before embarking on Crystal Serenity at Caldera on 30 November. The cruise then transits the Panama Canal before making a one day stop at Puerto Limon.

The itinerary proposed by our travel company has us first nighting near San Jose before going up to Tortuguero partly by boat for two nights. We would then fly (!) back to SJ before heading to Arenal for two nights then Monteverde for one. Finally we would spend two nights at Tambor before heading to Caldera on day nine to embark.

Our first dilemma is to decide whether it is worthwhile spending two nights in Tortuguero at a time of year when apparently the turtles will not nesting/egg laying or simply do a day trip from the ship at Limon. If the latter is likely to be a better choice we'd welcome any suggestions on what sort of trip to do from Limon - we would at least like to spend time on a boat along the canals there observing the wildlife.

If we don't stay in Tortuguero we'll have two more nights to plan into our trip and again any suggestions would be much appreciated. We are however quite OK with the prospect of spending the last two nights in Tambor possibly at the Tango Mar hotel.

Sorry if this is a bit long but this our first (and possibly only) trip to CR and so we want to make the most of it. Thanks in anticipation of your responses.

Tom

 

PS Any tips please about where to search for the weather we can expect especially rainfall!

We have stayed in Tortuguero during 2 different trips, not during turtle season. Waking up in the jungle to the jungle birds and the howler monkeys is not to be missed! No where else did we have the jungle sounds like that. We also did a bit of hiking in the area, and boating. I guess it depends on what kind of activities you like to do.

Thanks for this - I can see deciding how long to spend in Tortuguero is not going to be easy!

Regards

Tom

What you have so far are good suggestions but rather general. Each can be an incredible area. What you choose should really depend on what you expect from the trip. Some people want partying and loud music while others want quiet with howler monkeys in the background.

Arenal and Monteverde are two of my favorite and where I've been most. I'm not a fan of big ships and I can't stand the McDonald's obsession with zip lines so getting to the back side of Arenal when she's erupting or when the butterflies are flowing over the hills like water in Monteverde is magical. The key is to be honest with what you want from the trip and plan accordingly.

As for predicting the weather it depends a lot on exactly where you are standing and the time of day. We're are usually on the "dry" side of lake Arenal closeish to Tiliran and look across the lake to everyone being rained upon. A few miles can make a big difference in the weather. So, always accept the fact that it may rain and you'll be all over the place so just keep an eye on the sky for the most reliable weather report.